And a large fraction of fashion items are made out of advertising; that is, the value proposition of displaying a branded item comes from the web of association

And a large fraction of fashion items are made out of advertising; that is, the value proposition of displaying a branded item comes from the web of associations generated and maintained amongst your social group by the fashion brand's advertising efforts, which will in turn be associated with you by exhibiting the item. This means that it is actually possible to not be affected by advertising and still use fashion items, on the theory that everyone else is affected by advertising and the effect you want is to leverage that effect. I'm sure the most fashionable people are aware of this since they need to parse the fine distinctions of brand associations to maximize their desired effects. Ironically I think they may be the least affected by the advertising even while becoming the strongest real world advocates.